Cambridge Suburbs and Approaches:

Hills Road (including Babraham Road)

Cambridge Suburbs and Approaches: Hills Road (including Babraham Road)

Prepared by

Beacon Planning Ltd

For

Cambridge City Council

March 2012

Contents 1. Character Summary ...... 1 2. Introduction ...... 3 2.1 Background...... 3 2.2 Methodology ...... 3 2.3 Limitations...... 3 3. Historical Development ...... 4 3.1 Brief overview of the development of Cambridge ...... 4 3.2. The development of Hills Road...... 5 4. Character Assessment ...... 10 4.1. The Assessment Area ...... 10 4.2. Overall Character and Appearance ...... 11 4.3. Character Area 1 ...... 13 4.4. Character Area 2 ...... 15 4.5. Character Area 3 ...... 18 4.6. Character Area 4 ...... 23 4.7 Character Area 5 ...... 27 5. Significance Assessment ...... 31 5.1 Listed Buildings...... 31 5.2 Buildings of Local Interest...... 35 6. Maps ...... 43

i

1. Character Summary

Hills / Babraham Road is part of the realigned route of one of the four Roman roads which radiated out from the camp on Castle Hill. Only two were maintained – what became Huntingdon Road (Huntingdinesweye) and the sequence of roads between Bridge Street and Hills Road (Wlvestrata or Wool Street – the road to Colchester). The Roman route ran straighter than today’s roads and slightly to the southwest of the present Hills Road.

Ogilby’s road maps of 1675 show that Cambridge was a hub of local roads. The importance of Hills Road has, therefore, been long established and today, it is one of the two main routes into Cambridge from the south – the other being Trumpington Road. It is an ‘A’-road (A1307) which still links Cambridge to Colchester (via Haverhill) and the A11 which ultimately links to the M11 and London.

Approached from the south, the road (Babraham Road at this point) crosses through ‘Shelford Bottom’ before the Park & Ride site and the City boundary is reached. The Cambridge City sign and Park & Ride clearly indicate the proximity of the city, as does the Addenbrooke’s Hospital chimney. However, the initial approach is through Green Belt and arable fields, a remnant of Cambridge’s former agricultural hinterland, and is the rural edge of the City.

Once the outer limits of Cambridge’s built up area is reached, the character becomes more suburban with largely post-War residential development largely screened by strong hedgelines and substantial tree belts. This is interrupted by the vast Addenbrooke’s Hospital site which is a dramatic shift in scale, form and grain and has a rather stark appearance with little greenery to soften the rather daunting buildings. The suburban and vegetative character

Cambridge Suburbs and Approaches: Hills Road 1

returns north of the hospital, although residential development here is slightly earlier than that south of Addenbrooke’s. The intersection of Hills Road with Long Road and Queen Edith’s Way marks a shift in the development pattern with earlier suburban development from the early years of the 20th century and even the turn of the century around Homerton College.

The substantial redevelopment of the cattle market site and land surrounding the junction with Cherry Hinton Road is a dramatic change in scale and character, with modern apartment blocks and the Cambridge Leisure Park indicating the significant changes that this area of the city is undergoing. Much of this is on what was one of the city’s few industrial areas and some 19th century buildings survive between Brooklands Avenue and the War Memorial at the junction with Station Road.

The commercial nature of the northernmost stretch of Hills Road is apparent by the numerous office blocks near the railway station and the number of food and drink establishments. This is also a local shopping centre for the residential areas behind the Hills Road frontage with convenience stores serving their requirements. Although distinctly urban, a number of mature trees, particularly near the junctions with Station Road and Lensfield Road, serve as a reminder of the 19th century villas, the vast majority of which have been replaced by modern buildings.

The Central Conservation Area designation extends along much of the length of Hills Road up to the Brooklands Avenue junction, and segments of the west side were recently included via the New Town and Glisson Road Area Conservation Area Appraisal.

Cambridge City Council 2 2. Introduction

2.1 Background Beacon Planning Ltd was commissioned by Cambridge City Council to prepare a rapid assessment of Hills Road, from the Cambridge City boundary (at Babraham Road) to the junction with Lensfield Road, Regent Street and Gonville Place, (also known as “Hyde Park Corner”). The aim was to provide an assessment and understanding of this route’s local distinctiveness.

The City Council has a programme of ‘Suburbs and Approaches Studies’ and these projects form part of the Council’s pro-active Conservation programme, which also includes Conservation Area Appraisals. The Hills Road study was commissioned concurrently with the New Town and Glisson Road Area Conservation Area Appraisal.

2.2 Methodology The assessment involved fieldwork, desk research and analysis. Research was carried out at the County Record Office and in the building control records of the City Council. It consisted of a review of historic maps and a more general history of Cambridge, its architecture and development. The assessment is based on what could be seen on foot from the public highway.

2.3 Limitations The commission was to assess the architectural and historic character of Hills Road as part of a characterisation assessment, including the heritage significance of the area. The assessment is not in sufficient depth to support potential Conservation Area designation, although this assessment was commissioned alongside a review of the New Town and Glisson Road area of the Central Cambridge Conservation Area.

There are a number of additional lines of research which might produce additional historical information on the history and development of Hills Road such as rate books, insurance and building control records. Further research would provide greater detail and depth to an understanding of the development of the area.

Cambridge Suburbs and Approaches: Hills Road 3 3. Historical Development

3.1 Brief overview of the development of Cambridge The City of Cambridge lies at the intersection of four Roman roads, of which Hills Road is traditionally thought to be one. The Roman settlement developed on the west side of the River Cam in the present Castle Hill area. In Saxon times there was further settlement south of the river. After the Norman Conquest a castle was built north of the river and several churches and monastic foundations were in existence by the mid 13th century. The major growth of the town dates from the establishment of the University from the 13th century, and at the time of the Reformation there were 15 colleges.

With the exception of some minor suburban development, Cambridge did not significantly develop beyond its medieval bounds until the early 1800s, following the Acts of Enclosure. New housing began to appear on the roads leading out of town, including Hills Road. With the arrival of the railway in the 1840s the town expanded as a market town and agricultural centre. Large new areas of housing were built throughout the second half of the 19th century, building off and connecting the historic routes radiating out from the centre. In the first half of the 20th century the town’s population grew from 40,000 to 90,000; outlying villages were connected and absorbed as ribbon development spread out from the centre.

Early resistance to this growth and the loss of village character in outlying areas was manifested in the establishment of the Cambridge Preservation Society in 1928, and the protection given to the Gog Magog Hills, Grantchester, Coton and Madingley. After the Second World War Sir William (later Lord) Holford and H. Myles Wright’s Cambridge Survey and Plan of 1950 formed the basis of the 1952 County Development Plan, defining the Green Belt and proposing new housing growth on the northern and south- eastern fringes of the town (which became a City in 1951). Population was to be capped at 100,000.

Holford’s policy of containment proved unsustainable, and the post-war period has seen continuing pressure for and accommodation of development in and

Cambridge Suburbs and Approaches: Hills Road 4 around the City. The coming years will also see more significant change, with new housing, associated community facilities, and development of land for employment, medical and higher education expansion.

Hills Road is not directly affected by ‘Areas of Major Change’, but the Addenbrooke’s Biomedical Campus and the Bell School site are both likely to affect the character of Hills Road indirectly in the immediate future. The Station Area CB1 redevelopment, although largely set behind Hills Road, will have a direct presence on the road with the development of its eastern gateway buildings which will flank the new fourth arm of the Brooklands Avenue junction. However, given its key position in the city, Hills Road is often the subject of major development proposals along its length and several other large proposals are in the pipeline, including Botanic House which is currently under development.

The commercial and institutional nature of large sections of the road will continue to drive larger scale development, whilst pressure for further dwellings in the desirable residential areas along the road is unlikely to reduce. The City Council wishes to ensure that proposals are developed in the most appropriate way, taking account of the sustainability, mixed use and design objectives set out elsewhere in the Local Plan. This assessment will provide the strategic and historic environment analysis required to inform the preparation of more detailed policies and guidance.

3.2. The development of Hills Road Hills Road lies to the south of the historic core, mainly in the areas of 19th century expansion, although the road itself has Roman origins. It was thought traditionally to have marked the route of the Via Devana, a main Roman road between Cambridge and Colchester. However, a rammed chalk surface some 4 – 5 m wide was reported in the early 20th century by Walker in the Perse School, and a similar feature was noted in the Botanic Garden, which lay a few metres west of Hills Road, indicating a realignment of the route.

Walker also recorded the presence of earthworks, indicating a possible Roman camp in the area of the railway station. These sources are usually

Cambridge Suburbs and Approaches: Hills Road 5

reliable, but no corroborative evidence has been found in modern excavations. This could be down to truncation caused by the construction of the railway sidings and other works.

Other archaeological excavations indicate that this area was indeed in the hinterland of the Roman town, with agricultural fields (indicated by boundary ditches) and occasional quarry pits. The agricultural use of this area continued throughout the Saxon and mediaeval periods, Hills Road was a principal medieval road known as ‘Hadestokweye’ with Lensfield known as ‘Deepway’ in the 1300s. The road cut through the Barnwell Field (in the Parish of St Andrew the Less) which encircled the pre-19th century development limits of Cambridge.

In 1643, during the Civil War, the Parliamentarian forces fortified Cambridge as it was the headquarters of the Eastern Association. These defences involved the creation of strongpoints or the reconstruction of older work, all joined by a defensive bank and ditch that ran across the river loop, thus enclosing the town. It ran along Fen Causeway, Lensfield Road and across Parkers Piece, and so marks the northern boundary of the study area.

Cambridge’s road network became increasingly important in the 17th and 18th centuries. William Worts (d.1709) endowed a charity for the making and maintenance of a causeway from Emmanuel College to the Gogmagog Hills. The causeway formed the main road as far as the Red Cross from where it ran east to the hills. Ogilby’s road maps of 1675 show that Cambridge was a hub of local roads and Hills Road was a turnpike in 1766. Being outside the main settlement’s limits, however, virtually no development occurred along the road until the 19th century. The 1801 census revealed the growing points of the town as being on the periphery and enclosure was inevitable.

The Barnwell (East) Field Enclosure Act of 1807 and the Award of 1811 enabled land allocated in lieu of strips held in the common field to be developed. By this time much of the land in the common field was held by the University, Colleges or Thomas Panton as lord of the manor of Barnwell. The land south of Lensfield Road became known as ‘New Town’ and was divided

Cambridge City Council 6 up between very different owners. Except for land near the town centre, college owned land tended to be developed slowly as leasehold property, whereas land held in private hands tended to be sold off in freehold blocks to be developed by speculative builders.

The first map to show development in the area is Baker’s map of 1830 – earlier maps had been focussed on the centre of town (the previous limits of development) – and shows that development on the west side of Hills Road had only spread as far south as Coronation Street with the development lining Hills Road named as Gloucester Terrace. Lensfield Road has not been laid out yet, although a field boundary shows its future line. Aside from Gonville House on the corner of Gonville Place and Hills Road, Cambridge Place is the only development on the east side of Hills Road.

A few more villas on the east side of Hills Road had been developed by 1840 in addition to New Town spreading as far as Russell Street by this stage. The southern edge of New Town, running up to Brooklands Avenue was owned by Trinity Hall and the University. The plots were exchanged, enabling the University to relocate its Botanic Garden in 1846 to its current site. Trinity Hall then began to develop its land with fine houses, in present day Bateman Street, some of which survive on the southern side. However, the project did not prove popular and the college soon reverted to building long terraces on the north side and along Norfolk Street.

In 1844 the Railway Act permitted the construction of a line to Cambridge and in 1845, the Eastern Counties Railway used enclosure land owned by Jesus College in the Middle Field of the Barnwell common field system, to build a station with lines to London and Norwich. The Company then laid out a street, Station Road to link it all to the turnpike, Hills Road. Prior to this, this junction was marked by a milestone (one mile), a weighing machine, a stone cross and a building (named ‘St Andrew the Great’ in 1840). In the 1860s, the station was considerably remodelled and by 1874, the Great Northern Railway had built its own station and facilities just to the south. Its goods yard occupied a triangle of land between Station and Hills Roads.

Cambridge Suburbs and Approaches: Hills Road 7

The rapid growth of Barnwell (the Parish of St Andrew the Less) since the enclosure of its common fields left a sizeable population without easy access to a church. The government, concerned at possible sedition in the wake of European unrest and the return of the military from the Napoleonic Wars, also saw the construction of new churches as a bulwark against revolution in areas experiencing rapid population growth. The Church Building Acts of 1818 and 1824 supplied sums of money to facilitate this and a Commission was formed to apportion the funds. St Paul’s in Hills Road (built 1842) is one of the three Ambrose Poynter designed ‘Commissioner’ or ‘Waterloo’ churches built in Cambridge; the others are Christchurch on Newmarket Road, built in 1839, and St Andrew the Great on St Andrew’s Street, built 1842-43 (replacing the medieval church).

In 1841, St Andrew’s Catholic Church, designed by Pugin, was built on Union Road on land acquired by the Huddlestones of Sawston Hall. The opportunity to acquire land to build a new and bigger church occurred in 1879 when the Wentworth family vacated the Lensfield estate on the south side of Lensfield Road. With help from the Duke of Norfolk, land was acquired and the church dedicated to Our Lady and the English Martyrs, designed by Dunn and Hansom of Newcastle was built between 1885 and 1890.

The first OS map of 1886 shows that much of New Town had been built and the Botanic Garden occupied the western part of its current site. Hills Road (up to the Station Road junction) was lined by terraces on the west side with larger villas on the east side and the Great Northern Hotel was at the corner of Hills Road with a tramway running down the centre of Station Road and Hills Road, linking to the town centre. Leading off the east side of Hills Road were Harvey Road, St Paul’s Road, Cambridge Place, St Paul’s Walk and Claremont.

James Rattee’s ‘Cambridge Wood & Stone Carving Works’ sat at the junction with Station Road with Eastbourne and College terraces further south and then the large expanse of railway sidings and the cattle market over the bridge. On the opposite side of the road, much of the land was still undeveloped, although a handful of properties had been erected in the middle

Cambridge City Council 8 of what is now the Botanic Garden, whilst the Royal Albert Almshouses had been erected on the corner of Brooklands Avenue.

Across the railway bridge, development had not yet occurred and the land was still largely in agricultural use with a number of farms clustered near the Cherry Hinton Road junction. However, Cavendish College (now Homerton College) had been built with a couple of, presumably associated, villas. On the opposite side of the road, the lines of Cavendish Avenue and Hills Avenue were laid out, but otherwise the area (which was in the Trumpington and Cherry Hinton parishes) remained undeveloped.

The 1903 OS Map shows that the residential area between Cherry Hinton Road and Hills Avenue has been developed by this point with the church of St John the Evangelist (founded in 1891) built to serve this southern extension of Cambridge’s residential area. The west side of the road, in contrast, remains little developed save for a handful of scattered villas; Cavendish College has been re-founded as Homerton College. Further north, Glisson Road has been constructed off the east side of Hills Road.

By 1927, development had spread along both sides of Hills Road to the Long Road / Queen Edith’s Way junction, although development along the east side of Hills Road, south of Homerton College was limited to the frontage. Further south, at the Wort’s Causeway junction, the Cambridge Research Hospital had been established, whilst back towards the city, the Cambridge and County (High) School for Boys (erected 1903 and now the Hills Road Sixth Form) is shown for the first time near the junction of Cherry Hinton Road.

The mid 20th century saw further development along Hills Road south of the Long Road junction and towards the Wort’s Causeway junction. The second half of the 20th century too saw the development of large scale buildings, notably a series of office blocks along the west side of Hills Road. The intense commercial interest in this part of Cambridge carries on unabated and the 21st century has seen the development of high blocks of flats behind the 19th century development near the railway station.

Cambridge Suburbs and Approaches: Hills Road 9 4. Character Assessment

4.1. The Assessment Area The area covered by the assessment is shown in the attached plans. It encompasses Babraham Road from the City boundary in the south to the Wort’s Causeway junction where it becomes Hills Road up to the Lensfield Road junction in the north. It includes the properties with frontages to the road and landscape areas with relationships to the road. The assessment area can be broadly divided into five Character Areas (see Chapter 6: Maps):

Character Area 1 (red) encompasses the southern length of Babraham Road from the City boundary to the outer development limits of Cambridge at the junction of Granham’s Road. This part of the road is largely devoid of development, consisting mainly of open arable fields except for a car garage and showroom, farm and Park & Ride bus site along the northeast side. T he southwest verge has a high amount of ornamental non-native shrub and tree species and thus a sub-urban character.

Character Area 2 (orange) encompasses the southern development limits of Cambridge up to Long Road and consists mainly of mid 20th century residential development with the exception of the two hospital sites, Strangeways (early 20th century with modern extensions) and Addenbrooke’s (large later 20th century development).

Character Area 3 (blue) encompasses the central residential stretch of Hills Road from Long Road to (almost) Cherry Hinton Road and almost uniformly consists of early 20th century substantial residential properties. There are some key exceptions, including Homerton College and the Perse School.

Character Area 4 (brown) encompasses the very mixed stretch of the road from Cherry Hinton Road in the south, across the railway bridge and north to Station Road. Development here ranges from large modern blocks of flats and the leisure centre development south of the bridge to 19th century terraces and almshouse mixed with large scale modern office blocks and railway related buildings north of the bridge.

Cambridge Suburbs and Approaches: Hills Road 10 Character Area 5 (green) encompasses the northernmost length of the road from the Station Road junction into the City Centre and the junction with Lensfield Road / Gonville Place / Regent Street. It is in largely commercial use with a mixture of 19th century shops and villas and modern office blocks; the chief exception being the landmark Roman Catholic Church.

Much of Character Area 5 and part of Character Area 4 (from Brooklands Avenue northwards) are within the New Town and Glisson Road area of the Central Cambridge Conservation Area (No. 1). This area also contains the greatest concentration of Listed Buildings and Buildings of Local Interest (BLIs).

4.2. Overall Character and Appearance Hills / Babraham Road is a long, relatively straight route indicating its, albeit altered, Roman origins as the road to Colchester. It originally ran through the agricultural hinterland of Cambridge, lying outside the main pre 19th century development limits of the town, until the Enclosure Act of 1807 and Award of 1811, allowed development to spread along its length. As a result, development is generally early 19th century at the northern end of the road and becomes progressively more recent towards the south end which is largely mid 20th century, before the open countryside is reached.

Approaching the City boundary from the south, Babraham Road is rural in character, although the Park & Ride site and Addenbrooke’s Hospital chimney clearly indicate the proximity of the City across the agricultural fields. The outer limits of the city are reached through a hedgerow lined stretch of the road and the character becomes more suburban with significant groups of mature trees (often beech reflecting the chalk based landscape towards the south end of the road)

Cambridge Suburbs and Approaches: Hills Road 11

forming the predominant townscape and landscape feature. The buildings are a mixture of architectural styles and generally plainer than those further north, but are unified by the mature vegetation of the area.

Babraham Road becomes Hills Road at the Wort’s Causeway junction and continues northwards to the Addenbrooke’s Hospital site which is dramatically different to the surrounding residential area. As Character Area 3 is approached at the Long Road junction, the suburban character reasserts itself as does the verdant feel, but the buildings are earlier and are of greater architectural quality. Substantial plots with generous planting and landscaping, together with grass verges along the roadside, create a bosky character with many of the larger trees specimens (of a variety of species) the subject of Tree Preservation Orders. The vegetation along the length of the approach into the City is important as it changes with the seasons and is a foil for the traffic noise. Homerton College is one of the main exceptions to the prevailing residential use in this area, but even this is largely screened by a significant tree belt which links this establishment with the rest of the road.

The genteel suburban nature of the road disappears upon reaching the Cherry Hinton Road junction where significant redevelopment has occurred in

Cambridge City Council 12 recent years. The change in scale and grain is striking and retains an almost industrial feel enhanced by the lack of planting and the functional bridge over the railway together with the proximity of the station area. A more traditional character returns north of the railway bridge, but modern developments impose even here, although the vegetation of the Botanic Garden softens the area a little.

The edge of city character around the railway bridge becomes increasingly urban heading further north with large office blocks replacing earlier residential development. Upon reaching the Station Road junction the proximity of the City Centre is evident with commercial buildings and pressure for redevelopment as evidenced by developments such as the adjacent CB1 masterplan area. A strong core of 19th century development remains, however, including the Roman Catholic Church which is a landmark building of Citywide importance and marks the northern boundary of the study area.

4.3. Character Area 1 The approach to the City boundary is through ‘Shelford Bottom’ a small cluster of buildings around the Hinton Way / Cherry Hinton Road / Babraham Road roundabout. This is a busy junction as Babraham Road / Hills Road is an important ‘A’-road (A1307) and the roundabout provides car access to the Park & Ride site which lies on the City boundary. Immediately outside the City boundary are ‘Shelford Bottom Cottages’ and immediately inside is the bus route into the Park & Ride site.

Although flanked by wide expanses of arable fields, the principal feature upon crossing into the City boundary is the hedgerow which lines the road and

Cambridge Suburbs and Approaches: Hills Road 13

focuses views northwards towards the ‘H’ shaped chimney of Addenbrooke’s Hospital. On the east side of the road is the heavily tree- lined avenue to the Park & Ride site and adjacent are two derelict single storey cottages, beyond which is the Audi Vindis garage. Taken together with the signs and streetlights that announce the Park & Ride site, the character is not particularly rural as a result, despite the surrounding agricultural fields.

However, once past the garage, the fields are the predominant feature and instil an agricultural feel, accentuated by the farm and the low-key narrow footpath on the east side of the road only. The occasional breaks in the hedgerow allow glimpses through to the adjacent agricultural land and there is little of note until the Granham’s Road junction where the speed limit changes to 30mph, signalling the outer limits of the city. The vast buildings of Addenbrooke’s Hospital still dominate views northwest.

The view northwest will change in the next few years, however, with the development of the Bell School site in the foreground behind the first Hauxton Road properties on the east, with the enlarged Addenbrooke’s Biomedical Campus visible behind and to the west (further details below). The opportunity to support a positive strategy for more beech trees (which tend to

Cambridge City Council 14 favour the chalkier landscape at this southern end of the road) could be taken and used to provide screening to the new developments.

4.4. Character Area 2 The first buildings of the city are hidden behind strong hedgelines with development on the east side of Babraham Road extending as far as the Granham’s Road junction, but development on the west side begins some 100m further north. The first buildings on the east side are set in long thin angled plots whilst those on the west are in wider plots set at 90° to the road. The houses on the east side date largely from the 1930s, although the half dozen or so immediately south of Strangeways are earlier 20th century, built at a similar time to the former Cambridge Research Hospital. The houses to the west side are slightly later (1940s-60s) and larger, being substantial detached dwellings in a diluted Arts and Crafts style, whilst the eastern properties are more mixed in styles and forms.

Babraham Road opens out at the Granham’s Road junction and this is continued by the suburban drives and relatively open frontages of the first few properties on the east side. As a result of this openness, these outermost properties have a more rural aspect than those further north; the break in the

Cambridge Suburbs and Approaches: Hills Road 15

building line at the track between Nos. 4a and 6 Babraham Road providing a reminder of the countryside behind.

Where both sides of the road are developed, trees and hedgelines become the dominant feature; the verdant character enhanced by the grass verges, also important to Character Area 3, lining the footpaths which now run on both sides of the road. This is particularly true at Strangeways, which is largely hidden behind a substantial tree belt, although a view of one of the modern buildings on the site is gained through a break in the trees and the original early 20th century building is glimpsed at the junction with Wort’s Causeway.

The junction with Wort’s Causeway marks the point at which Babraham Road becomes Hills Road and is signalled by a number of road signs, bollards, streetlights and other highway markings. The junction is wide and allows views along Wort’s Causeway, where Nether Hall (which gave its name to the area around it), sits. Wort’s Causeway is so called as it is part of the causeway made and maintained by the charity endowed by William Worts.

The 1940s – 60s residential development along Wort’s Causeway continues around and along Hills Road towards the Addenbrooke’s roundabout, set back from the road behind a strong tree belt, which virtually blocks views of the buildings. The other side of the road also has high tree coverage,

Cambridge City Council 16 screening views of The Bell School of Languages until Red Cross Lane (so named because of Red Cross Farm that was located here) junction where views across the car park of the school reveal the buildings (under development) and allow views along the lane. Residential development north of Red Cross Lane is later 20th century and screened by trees.

Fendon Road is visible on the 1938 OS map and development had begun by this point. The roundabout and Addenbrooke’s Hospital came later, in the 1960s, and significantly opened up the road altering the character. The roundabout itself is a green oasis in the middle of a busy highway which divides the suburban residential character of the northeast side of the road from the vast and urban scaled hospital complex on the southwest side.

Addenbrooke's Hospital was named after John Addenbrooke (1680 – 1719, bursar of Catharine Hall, now St Catharine's College) who left funding for the first hospital in his will. It opened in Trumpington Street on 13th October 1766 with 20 beds. The new hospital opened on Hills Road in 1961 (officially 1962). The buildings are imposing, but not attractive, and are viewed across large expanses of car parking and a bus station. The car park has some immature trees (with Tree Preservation Orders (TPOs)) along its boundary with the

Cambridge Suburbs and Approaches: Hills Road 17

road, but this provides ineffective screening. The hospital site will be enlarged as part of the Addenbrooke’s 2020 Vision which is designed to develop the site as an international centre of excellence, bringing together clinical care, teaching and research to form the Cambridge Biomedical Campus which include a conference centre, hotel, and accommodation for staff, with transport connections via the guided busway and a new link to the M11.

Moving northwards towards the Long Road junction, the road becomes more enclosed again upon reaching the residential development on the west side. However, the road still has a more open character than the earlier suburban development north of Long Road. Frontages are less enclosed despite the presence of hedges and trees, and gardens are set behind grass verges along the footpaths. Properties are all detached and generally of 2-storeys in a variety of styles reflecting the individual ownership and organic development of this area with houses built to each owner’s tastes.

4.5. Character Area 3 The junction with Long Road and Queen Edith’s Way is very busy, being part of the Cambridge Ring Road – a separate Approaches Study has been produced for Long Road which connects to Trumpington Road, also the subject of an Approaches Study. Due to the volume of

Cambridge City Council 18 traffic, the junction is signal controlled and has the usual accompanying bollards and railings. Development on the four corners is largely screened by the mature trees and vegetation on their boundaries, although the recent development of three large houses on the southwest corner plot of the junction is more visible because of the associated works. Trinity House on the northwest corner is dated to 1908 by a stone plaque in its gable.

The junction marks a change in the character of Hills Road, with development to the north generally earlier and more regular with groups of similar buildings, although a great deal of individuality still exists. Properties are usually large detached or semi-detached villas dating from the early decades of the 20th century with some later infilling or redevelopment, notably on the northeast side. Building styles and materials vary considerably although render and brown/red brick with a tiled roof is perhaps the most common combination, but used in a variety of architectural approaches from more historical styles to Arts and Crafts. Timber framing (mock or real) is a common detail and some examples of gault brick and slate are also found, often indicating the earliest development in the area.

Cambridge Suburbs and Approaches: Hills Road 19

On the northeast side of the road, on the corner with Blinco Grove, stands St John the Evangelist built by architects Gordon, Lowther and Gunton. Set back from the road, this church is a positive contribution to the character of the area with its soft red bricks and stone windows. Founded in 1892 to serve the new residential developments of ‘New Cherry Hinton’, the church still has a strong community with many activities in the church as well as the successful extensions to the original building. The open space to the front of the building enables it to sit comfortably within its setting.

The northeast side of the road has suffered more from later 20th century redevelopment with a number of blocks of flats constructed, including Homerton Court and Alliance Court. The three new houses on the junction with Cavendish Avenue have more in common with the prevailing character of the Hills Road, but turn their back on it with a timber- panelled fence contrasting unfortunately with the softly landscaped boundaries of the majority of the road’s properties. No. 242, on the southwest side of the road, has a more low-key boundary with a white “parkland” timber fence in keeping with the character of the house itself.

Cambridge City Council 20 The bosky character of the road continues until Homerton College is reached; after this, the road starts to become more urban in nature, marking the beginning of the earliest (turn of the century) development in the area. St John the Evangelist Church was constructed in 1891 to serve the pastoral needs of the growing population in this southern extension of Cambridge and is constructed of red brick. Opposite, Homerton College was founded in 1894 on the site of Cavendish College, the buildings of which form the core of the educational complex. (Cavendish College, named after the then-Chancellor of the University, was founded in 1876, but a lack of money brought an end to the venture and the estate was sold.)

The main buildings of the Homerton College site are set back behind a strong line of mature trees edged by railings. This screen allows only glimpses of the predominantly red brick buildings, but its presence is signalled on the street by two very different lodges which sit side-by-side towards the northern end of the site, flanking Harrison Drive, the main access route into the site. The two lodges are both gault brick with slate roofs, but one is gable end on with decorative bargeboards, and the other is a traditional 3 bay property with a hipped slate roof. Both are probably associated with Trumpington House (a gault brick villa), now part of the College site.

Cambridge Suburbs and Approaches: Hills Road 21

Recessed slightly, but immediately adjacent to the southern gault brick lodge is a red brick and clay tiled lodge which more obviously relates to the College complex in architectural style and materials. The Faculty of Education is a striking building in a very contemporary architectural style, although it uses a palette of materials that relates more to the gault brick lodges and the substantial villas to the north of the College site.

The domestic dwellings at the northern end of this character area are, again, a mix of styles and materials, although gault brick and slate is more common here than further south. The buildings are more imposing too, being of a larger scale, often 3 storeys and have richer detailing. No. 175 on the corner of Rathmore Road is particularly noteworthy and eye-catching with its prominent chimney stack, decorative stairlight window and the attractive way it turns the corner, making good use of gables and turrets.

From the junction with Marshall Road northwards, the east side of Hills Road has fewer trees than previously and the road begins to open up towards the Cherry Hinton Road junction, although the substantial tree belt, which has a group TPO, continues along the west side of the road to Purbeck Road. Purbeck Road marks the former Parliamentary and Municipal boundary of

Cambridge City Council 22 Cambridge; south of this, the west side of Hills Road was in the Trumpington Parish, and the east side was in the Cherry Hinton Parish.

Opposite the Purbeck Road junction is Elsworth Place, a late 20th century residential development which was built to the north of No. 163 Hills Road. This has a Cambridge blue plaque on it dedicated to Archie Scott Brown, racing driver (1927- 1958), who lived in the property. Beyond this, the Hills Road Sixth Form and a development site mark the beginning of a more commercial character.

4.6. Character Area 4 Although Homerton College to the south is of a very different scale to the prevailing residential development to the south, it is not until Hills Road Sixth Form College is reached that the character of Hills Road changes. This educational establishment signals the end of the residential suburb and the gradual approach to the City Centre with a dramatic change in scale and form at the junction with Cherry Hinton Road.

The Sixth Form College was established in September 1974 on the site of the former Cambridgeshire High School for Boys (founded 1900). Since then, the college has expanded from its original single building, with the addition of the Rob Wilkinson building housing the Physics, Chemistry, and PE departments in 2004; and, in 2005 the Margaret Ingram Guidance Centre which provides specialist tutorial accommodation. Much of this has been developed in a style sympathetic to the original building, but the Robinson Theatre contrasts sharply.

Cambridge Suburbs and Approaches: Hills Road 23

North of this, after the fragmentary remains of an early 20th century terrace, is The Levels, a block of flats, which rises to 6 storeys on the corner of Homerton Street. On the opposite side is ‘The Belvedere’ which is predominantly 5 storeys, but has an 11-storey tower at its northern end, adjacent to the railway bridge. Homerton Street was laid out in the early 20th century, but is now entirely lined by modern developments (private and student housing) reflecting the significant changes that this area has seen.

The junction with Cherry Hinton Road is a mass of signals, signs and highway markings with the Leisure Park development (on the site of the former cattle market) and another development site (awaiting construction of an 8-storey block of flats) forming the open backdrop. There is some retail here, but the main area starts over the bridge, nearer to the City Centre. Hills Road continues north over the

railway as a heavily engineered bridge with dark red brick parapets, partially flanked by the Travelodge and Junction buildings on the Leisure Park site to the east. The character is distinctly industrial at

Cambridge City Council 24 this point with the bridge providing views along the railway tracks; east to the railway station and the remaining industrial buildings (Foster’s Mill, etc); and west to the Cambridge University Press site and yet another residential development site. The industrial character is reflected in the choice of materials for many of the buildings in the vicinity with metal and timber cladding commonly used.

Across the north side of the bridge, the view is of the bulky signal box building and City House, an office block, with their accompanying car parking areas. Once across the bridge, the Earl of Derby PH on the east side of Hills Road reinstates a more traditional grain of development, although immediately to the north, part of a former coal wharf office has been demolished to allow construction of a new link road into the station area. This road will be flanked with new student accommodation blocks in line with the CB1 masterplan for redevelopment of the entire station area behind the Hills Road frontage. The future change in scale of this junction is already indicated by the huge bulk of City House on the corner of Brooklands Avenue which contrasts sharply with the modest scale and traditional detailing of the listed Royal Albert Almshouses on the opposite side of Brooklands Avenue.

From Brooklands Avenue to Station Road, Hills Road has a more traditional character with the survival of the 19th century Eastbourne and College terraces which line

Cambridge Suburbs and Approaches: Hills Road 25

the east side of the road, although the recent ‘Triangle Site’ development is clearly visible behind and above the traditional 2 storey properties. On the opposite side of the road, north of the almshouses is the eastern edge of the Cambridge University Botanic Garden, the trees of which combine with the occasional trees on the east side to draw the eye northwards towards the War Memorial, helping to screen the Mills and Reeve office block.

Once past the Botanic Garden trees however, bulky office blocks dominate once more, although The Flying Pig PH and Osbourne Arms PH are reminders of the 19th century development that previously lined this section of Hills Road. Kett House, on the junction with Station Road sits on the site of the Cambridge Wood & Stone Carving works which became better known as ‘Rattee and Kett’; James Rattee’s house stood on the site.

The War Memorial, depicts a solidier walking towards the City, home and family, and looking back over his shoulder at the station, the war and his mates who are never going to come home. It is rather lost in the midst of the junction with Station Road but it will be moved to the verge as part of the Botanic House development. Botanic House is a 7 storey lens shaped office building. A pedestrian entrance to the Botanic Garden forms the backdrop to the War Memorial in views west from Station Road and is an area that is to be landscaped as a new square, with the War Memorial as its main feature.

Cambridge City Council 26 4.7 Character Area 5 Although still 1 mile from the City Centre, the junction with Station Road clearly signals the approach to the main commercial area with the change from office and residential uses to retail units. The influence of the railway station (the focus of views along Station Road) is also noticeable with the cluster of cafes and bars at this junction, beginning with the Great Northern Hotel. This curved range of buildings is a good traditional backdrop to the War Memorial in views north and turns the corner attractively.

Both sides of the road have suffered from later 20th century redevelopment, but both sides also have good traditional buildings with a number of statutorily Listed Buildings and BLIs.

Claremont, behind the Great Northern Hotel, is a small model 19th century residential development which is set attractively either side of a central driveway. Views of the development from Hills Road are unfortunately let down by the derelict piece of land between it and the main road. Claremont is followed by Highsett, of which the flats are Listed Buildings. Highsett is a very different span of residential development built on the site of a 19th century villa, the front wall of which survives. Adjacent, to the north, two 19th century villas, Felbrigge (still in residential use) and No. 41 still survive, followed by some later development before a traditional (altered)

Cambridge Suburbs and Approaches: Hills Road 27

range of buildings which lead up to St Paul’s Church. These buildings include the former Norfolk Hotel (No. 27 Hills Road) which flanks the entrance to Cambridge Place, the earliest street built off the east side of Hills Road, but now largely redeveloped.

St Paul’s Church is a minor landmark in the streetscape, rather overwhelmed by the substantial Roman Catholic Church on the corner of Lensfield Road which has City- wide importance as a wayfinder. The commercial nature of the road becomes starkly apparent with the very industrial looking Terrington House which is followed by the former South Cambridgeshire District Council office, now part of Cambridge Assessment who also own the 1960s office block on the corner of Gonville Place for whom the building was commissioned. In between these two blocks is No. 7 Hills Road, a surviving 19th century villa now used by Cambridge Assessment and rather lost in amongst the car parking and surrounding office developments.

Cambridge City Council 28 South of the Catholic Church on its prominent position at the major junction known as Hyde Park Corner, is the Presbytery which is set back from the road, allowing views of the Chemistry Faculty and its green ‘chimneys’ on Lensfield Road beyond. This is followed by a surviving fragment of the 19th century New Town development, a range of substantial properties (all listed) and formerly known as Cintra Terrace, now in office use. The name is remembered in Cintra House (the Open University offices) which is unfortunately only a façade. The two southern properties of the terrace have been replaced with a rather uninspired office block.

The next group of buildings is an eclectic mix of 2-3 storey gault brick properties with a variety of detailing and an irregular building line. Probably originally built as houses, these

buildings are now commercial at ground floor with some residential above, although some later infilling has occurred. Some traditional shop features remain, notably the painted ‘Bulls Dairies’ sign on the side of Annabelle’s sandwich shop. Between Russell and

Cambridge Suburbs and Approaches: Hills Road 29

Bateman Streets was another group of 19th century properties and a Methodist Chapel, now largely replaced by vast 20th century office blocks; only Nos. 56 – 60 survive, but squashed up against the adjoining 4 storey bulk of Nos. 62 – 68.

The uncompromising form of Three Crowns House is the next office development, replacing Dorset Terrace (on the first edition OS map). This has been refurbished and extended to become the latest Cambridge Assessment office site. It is followed by the Royal Bank of Scotland building, another 4-storey block, before the character area ends unpromisingly with No. 90 Hills Road.

Despite the commercial character of this part of the road, several mature trees (largely limes with some planes reflecting the urban character of this end of the road), notably outside the Cambridge Assessment buildings, add welcome greenery to the street. They provide a foil to the strong lines of the bulkier buildings and complement the traditional character of the historic buildings. The good grouping at the northern end of the study area complements the mature tree group within the grounds of Highsett at the south end of the character area, compensating for the lack of street trees in the central section of the character area where commercial plots are on the back of the footway allowing no room for greenery.

Cambridge City Council 30 5. Significance Assessment

The relative significance of buildings and landscape features in the study area has been assessed according to the following five categories (to be read in conjunction with the coloured map in Chapter 6: Maps):

Protected: buildings and trees that are protected by listing or Tree Preservation Orders (TPOs). Listed Buildings in the assessment area are shown below. Buildings protected by listing are in dark blue on the maps, and TPOs and TPO groups are also indicated.

Buildings of Local Interest: although not afforded statutory protection, these make a positive contribution to the street scene, and are noted below. They are red on the maps in Chapter 6.

Positive: buildings of clear local interest, but not yet included as a Building of Local Interest, or of lesser quality than Buildings of Local Interest, or altered superficially. They are light blue on the maps in Chapter 6.

Neutral: buildings which although of little individual merit (sometimes on account of unsympathetic alteration) nevertheless combine with other buildings and spaces to create a townscape of value, or at least do not detract. These are left uncoloured on the maps in Chapter 6.

Negative: buildings which have an adverse impact. These are identified in the hatched area on the maps in Chapter 6.

In addition to these categories, significant but not formally protected green spaces, including roadside verges and major open spaces, are also indicated on the maps in Chapter 6.

5.1 Listed Buildings Church of Our Lady and the English Martyrs (Roman Catholic), Hills Road, Grade II* 1887-1890. Built from designs of Messrs. Dunn, Hansom and Dunn in 19th century Decorated style on cruciform plan with polygonal apse, central lantern and North-West tower with spire. A stone church considerably enriched with carving, and a good example of late 19th century Gothic architecture.

Cambridge Suburbs and Approaches: Hills Road 31

Wall and gates of the Church of Our Lady and the English Martyrs (Roman Catholic), Hills Road, Grade II Fronting Lensfield Road. 1890, contemporary with the church. Red brick wall with stone coping. Gate piers the same with decorative details and carved animals. Wrought iron gates.

Rectory of the Church of Our Lady and the English Martyrs (Roman Catholic), Hills Road, Grade II Circa 1890, contemporary with the church. L-shaped. Red brick, in the Tudor style, stone dressings. Doorway with 4-light windows on either side, One 6- light window on upper floor, others single light casements. Castellated, slate roof, decorative chimneys.

Wall and gatepiers of the Rectory, Hills Road, Grade II Red brick, stone capped wall and gatepiers. No gates.

Nos. 2 to 22 (even) Hills Road form a group:

No. 2 Hills Road (Wanstead House), Grade II* GV Circa 1825. 2 storeys; gault brick; plaster dressings; hipped slate roof; symmetrically designed front with dentilled and modillioned caves-cornice; 3 windows, moulded architraves, glazing bars; central doorway with eared architrave, swags on frieze above, flanking fluted Corinthian columns with entablature with pulvinated frieze and dentilled cornice. Particularly important for the inclusion of features from Colen Campbell's 1st major work, Wanstead House in Essex (1715-21) demolished in 1824.

Nos. 4 and 6 Hills Road, Grade II GV Early C19 grey gault brick, altered circa 1865. The ground floor of No. 6 is original with grooved stucco; that of No. 4 has a pilaster treatment with a single tripartite sash. Plat bands at all levels and window heads, heavy projecting window heads on first floor. Three floors, four windows to whole, sashes with glazing bars. Six panel door with rectangular light over. Heavy Italianate/Florentine eaves cornice, parapet, roof not visible.

Nos. 8 and 10 Hills Road, Grade II GV

Cambridge City Council 32 Early 19th century. Grey gault brick, partly painted. 3 storeys and basement, 2 windows, sashes with glazing bars. No. 8 has no doorway, No. 10 has a panelled door with fanlight over. Parapet with string course. Slate roof.

Nos. 12 to 18 (even) Hills Road, Grade II GV Early 19th century terrace completely refronted 1860-5 by John Edlin, and possibly with an added attic storey. Stucco, grooved on the ground floor. Four storeys and basement, thirteen bays. Plain sash windows, elliptical heads to the first and second floors. Doors in seventh, tenth and thirteenth bays. Additional door to left of first bay, tenth bay now a window. Decorative features include bracketted cills to windows, cast-iron balcony on heavy brackets to first floor. Heavy band to second floor, this projects on a console bracket which forms the keystone above each window, similar treatment to upper floor windows; heavy modillion cornice to second floor, lighter cornice to parapet, roof not visible from street. A further outstanding feature is the projecting terracotta heads with piers between the first floor windows, a vigorous Italianate feature with four different designs.

Nos. 20 and 22 Hills Road, Grade II GV Early 19th century. Grey gault brick. 3 storeys and basement. Parapet, slate roof. No. 20: 2 windows, sashes with glazing bars. Panelled door with rectangular light over. No. 22: 3 windows, mid C19 sashes; modern bay on ground floor. Round headed doorway with modern door.

Church of St Paul, Hills Road, Grade II 1841. By Ambrose Poynter. Chancel and North Vestry added in 1864, the transepts in 1893 (by Temple Moore). Red brick with blue brick diapering and limestone dressings. In the Perpendicular Early Tudor style. Castellated throughout. 6-light windows with diamond lattice panes. Slate roof. The west tower of 3 stages with angle turrets and clock. Clock dated 1841; the 3rd stage has 3-light windows with 4-centred heads. Castellated parapet.

Nos. 1A-37 Highsett and Front retaining wall, Hills Road, Grade II Block of 31 flats, six maisonettes and garages front retaining wall. 1958-60 by Eric Lyons for Span Developments Ltd; Z Pick engineer; Leslie Bilsby, builder.

Cambridge Suburbs and Approaches: Hills Road 33

Brick cross-wall construction with concrete floors, mostly tile hung. Flat roof over broad cornice. The group set in a courtyard plan mirroring that of the traditional Cambridge colleges, but with openings in the east, west and north- west comer elevations where the upper floors are supported on piloti. The views through to the rear garden, though now with semi open screens and gates, are an important part of the composition. Three storeys. The north elevation has the maisonettes set over the garages, the other elevations with flats of various sizes; the first and second floor plans the same, and at these levels the east and west elevations mirror each other. Timber and UPVC windows set in continuous bands, an irregular pattern of side casements and pivoted toplights; deeper living room windows with transoms, Mineral board fascias. Open stairwells with some timber louvred screens designed for drying clothes.

War Memorial, Hills Road, Grade II World War I memorial. 1922. Bronze figure by R. Tait McKenzie. Stone-faced brick plinth. Rectangular. Base with inscriptions supporting sarcophagus with rounded ends to north and south. Sarcophagus carved with high-relief plaque to the east side, coats of arms to remaining 3 sides. Sarcophagus supports full-size bronze figure of British soldier in military dress striding forward, rifle slung, gazing to right.

Milestone outside 100 Hills Road, Grade II – Currently not visible Milestone. Erected in 1731 by Dr William Warren. Stone block inscribed with "1 mile from Great St Mary's Church Cambridge". This is the first of a series of milestones that were erected to mark the distances between Cambridge and Haverhill. Dr Warren was a Fellow of Trinity Hall, who was also responsible for erecting a series of 16 milestones on the old road to London.

Royal Albert Homes [Nos. 1 to 25 (consec)] Hills Road Grade II Mid/Late Cl9. By Peck and Stephens of Maidstone. In 3 blocks. Nos. 9-20 (consec) facing Hills Road. Foundation stone dated 1861. In the Gothic style. Grey gault brick with red and blue brick dressings and string course. 2 storeys. Pointed headed windows, 6-light below, 2-light above. Panelled

Cambridge City Council 34 central tower with the clock missing. Many gabled slate roof with different sized gables.

No. 178 Hills Road, Trumpington House (Homerton College), Grade II Early C19. Grey gault brick, 2 storeys, 3 windows, sashes with glazing bars. Plain doorway on right. Hipped slate roof.

5.2 Buildings of Local Interest Nos. 38 – 44 Hills Road (even) (Previously listed as Nos. 42-44) Nos. 42 and 44 are a pair of early mid 19th century grey gault brick buildings with a slate roof and a large stack between them with 6 chimneys with pots. On the first floor are pairs of 8/8 timber sashes without horns and there is a pitched dormer to each above. On the ground floor, both have shop fronts; No. 42 with pilasters (now tiled) support a projecting, plain console and frame a deep fascia and modern plate glass shop window with a recessed shop door. No. 44 has no pilasters, a canted glass shop window with mullions and a recessed door. To the north side of No. 42 is a door with rectangular fanlight and above a short fascia framed by consoles. This gives access to the flat above. No. 40 is a gault brick house stepped back from the road but with a 20th century extension at ground floor level to create a shopfront, which is modern. Above are replacement windows. No. 38 projects forwards again. Gault brick and slate with modern shopfront below and a projecting bay window above. On its flank walls are a painted signs “Bulls Dairies for pure cream Jersey milk supplied” and a picture of a Jersey cow’s head.

No. 39 Hills Road (Felbrigge) (NOT No. 43 as previously listed) Detached early-mid 19th century gault brick house, extended and altered. 3 storeys with basement and hipped slate roof with gable stacks. Three bays. Central bay has round arched recess rising through 3 floors and including the front door, which is modern (plastic) as is the canopy over and steps with railings. Above is a 6/6 sash with an arched window on the 2nd floor, 3/3 with fanlight above. Either side of the door are 6/6 sashes all timber without horns on all floors, including basement. The brickwork has been cleaned.

Cambridge Suburbs and Approaches: Hills Road 35

No. 41 Hills Road (Beechwood) Detached early-mid 19th century gault brick house in Flemish bond, extended and altered. 2 storeys with basement. Hipped slate roof with gable stacks. 6/6 timber sash windows.

Claremont, Hills Road Mid C19. Model development of 6 houses in two terraces facing each other over an oval landscaped area with a narrow driveway around. There is a working gas lantern on a fluted cast iron column at the South Western end.

T-plan, two storey terraces of three houses each. Gault brick with stone trim and artificial ‘slate’ hipped roofs with moulded blue clay ridge and hip tiles. A main brick chimney stack between each house with over-sailing courses at the top and four or six square plan, tapering white fireclay pots. End and intermediate stacks are similar but smaller.

Ground floor – Central wide front door, single solid panel below, two obscure glazed above with semi-circular obscure glazed fanlight under radial rubbed arch each with carved keystone, (2 lion masks, 2 female heads, 1 male head and 1 acanthus leaf). The arches spring from decorative padstones with acanthus leaves and the brick jambs have stop chamfers. A pair of stone framed, canted bay windows with a flat roof behind a parapet with moulded drip to each house. Main timber vertically sliding sash windows have a central glazing bar (two over two), narrower versions to bay flanks.

First floor – Three symmetrically placed sashes, as below, with stone sills and lintels. A stone or brick roll eaves mould supports regular, curved timber eaves brackets, each with a turned acorn pendent. Stone name plate to each terrace.

Rear elevation – A shared pair and a single extension to each terrace with catslide roofs, matching chimney stacks and similar joinery to the front. Main windows are sashes under shallow arched brick heads.

Cambridge City Council 36 Interiors – Two main ground floor reception rooms flank the central entrance hall, some have ‘classical’ fire surrounds, (some timber, some marble), panelled doors and run cornices.

Nos. 55 – 59 Hills Road (with Nos. 1 – 7 Station Road) Large corner building of 3 storeys and 28 bays originally housing 3 shops on Hills Road, 3 on Station Road and with the Great Northern Hotel between on the corner. Gault brick with stone detailing and a slate roof. The first floor has large 2/2 sash windows with arched stone heads. The second floor has similar but smaller windows with flat stone heads. Above is a decorative cornice with dentils and pendentive brackets between the windows. The windows at 1st and 2nd floor are bricked up in bay 12 (from the left), as is the 2nd floor window in bay 15. With the exception of the first shop (No. 55 Hills Road), which had five bays, the other shops were of three bays. The hotel seemingly occupied bays 12 to 19. Some original shopfronts with pilasters with stepped console brackets survive to No. 59 Hills Road, No. 7 Station Road and in part to Nos. 55 and 57 Hills Road and No. 5 Station Road. Large ridge stacks survive at each end and between bays 5 and 6, 8 and 9, 11 and 12, 19 and 20 and 22 and 23.

Nos. 63 – 99 (odd) Eastbourne Terrace, Hills Road Built sometime between 1863 and 1888. Terrace of 19 houses, the plans alternately handed. Each of 2 bays, 2-storey plus basement and dormer. Panelled door with arched head and plain fanlight. Bay window to ground floor with slate roof. Windows 2/2 sashes with flat brick arches to 1st floor. Shared stacks. Dormer window in same bay as bay window. Originally all had small front gardens behind low walls. Various incremental alterations have taken place.

Nos. 101 – 123 (odd) College Terrace, Hills Road Terrace of 12 houses, virtually identical to the above, but only 2 storeys plus basement.

Cambridge Suburbs and Approaches: Hills Road 37

No. 125 Hills Road Built between 1863-1888, probably as railway coal yard offices and manager’s house. 2 storeys, 3 bays in gault brick with overhanging hipped slate roof. Central panelled door with red brick flat arched head. To each side are bay windows to ground floor with slate roofs. 3, 6/6 sashes to first floor with similar heads to ground floor. End stacks. Rebuilt front garden wall in disrepair. Part of an iron gate and railing survives to S. Ground floor boarded up (September 2010). At the other side of the gateway is a small gate lodge.

The Earl of Derby PH, No. 129 Hills Road Late C19, probably purpose built public house. 2 storeys, 3 bays to main W and S elevations. Gault brick with hipped slate roof. Ground floor W elevation has flat roofed addition to N with canopied entrance and rusticated plasterwork wrapping around to part of S elevation. All windows are 6/6 sashes. N end stack and ridge stack to S side.

No. 175 Hills Road 1890. Detached 2-storey house. Gault brick and slate roof with terracotta ridge tiles and pinnacles. Red brick banding to elevations and detailing to tall decorative external gable end stack. Side entrance canopy with carved timber support to slate roof. Two long narrow coloured glass stairlights, one full length, beneath half-timbered gable with date in applied numbering. Corner bay turret and double height box bay to Hills Road beneath substantial half-timbered gable.

The property stands on a plot on the corner of Rathmore Road and Hills Road and has considerable street presence and, therefore, townscape value.

Nos. 185 to 189 (odd) Hills Road Nos. 185 and 187 are a semi-detached pair. Red brick ground floor, decorative tile-hung first floor. Roof of red plain clay tiles with decorative, tile- hung dormers with flat roof bounded by modern railings. Openings have red rubbed brick flat arch lintels over and some have decorative panels below in terracotta depicting swags, etc. Canted projecting bays to ground floor with hipped, tiled roofs. Plain side-hung casement windows with multi-pane,

Cambridge City Council 38 coloured glass upper lights. Much plainer to flanks and rear. Relatively small plot.

No. 189 is detached on a prominent corner plot. Substantial tree to Hartington Grove. Red brick with pronounced Dutch gables. Red plain clay tiled roof. Red brick chimney stacks with decorative oversails. Canted projecting bays with stone lintels over openings; over windows have rubbed brick flat arches. Plain vertically sliding sash windows with timber frames. This building was the vicarage to St Johns’ from 1903 to 1956.

These substantial houses have considerable presence on the street and thus have some townscape value.

No. 256 Hills Road (NB wrong building (No. 258) marked in original GIS files provided) Built sometime between 1903 and 1926. Detached house of 2-storeys. Red brick ground floor with half-timbering and decorative plasterwork above and a red clay tiled roof. Octagonal red brick chimneystacks either side of central jettied ‘cross-wing’; roof to north hipped and roof to south comprises two south-facing gables. Leaded light casement windows with main windows comprising a central arched window flanked by smaller casements.

This substantial house is distinctive in the street scene and thereby has considerable townscape value.

Hills Road Sixth Form College and Lodge, Hills Road Main building facing Hills Road in red brick with tiled roof including lace pattern ridge tiles. Southern section of 9 bays in red brick (with small red brick windowless extension to basement level at southern end). Three storeys. Bays 1 – 3 and 7 – 9 are the original school, built in 1903 together with the section that joins them behind bays 4 – 6, along with the caretaker’s lodge to the North. The central 3 bays were built in 1924. This southern section is symmetrical except that bay 8 has the main entrance to the school.

Windows are casements with stone dressings. Bays 2 and 8 have triangular pediments with stone bands, stone dressings and stone ball finials on either

Cambridge Suburbs and Approaches: Hills Road 39

side. Bays 4 and 6 are 3 sided projections with windows on three sides. Bay 8 has the main entrance at first floor level with 5 steps up to the panelled timber double door under a flat projecting canopy with brick and stone supports and elaborately carved stone brackets. In the inner corners are squat stone pillars on brick supports. Above the door is a semi-circular light with stained glass under a brick arch. No surviving chimneys. Some basement area railings.

North of this section is a joined redbrick section of three storeys built in 1997 which echoes bays 4 – 6 of the Edwardian frontage, with projecting three- sided bays on either side of a square arch. This section projects behind the caretaker’s house and forms the rest of the eastern edge of a quadrangle behind the main façade.

Caretaker’s house. 1903. Red brick; three bays, three storeys, tiled roof to match original part of school building. Projecting bay at north end with triangular gable, matching gable end facing south. Casement windows with stone dressings. Ground floor built out between main part of house and projecting northern bay at an angle to house entrance with timber painted door frame and timber painted panelled door. Third storey gable windows are narrow slits. Single brick chimney stack at north end.

To the rear; extensive buildings and extensions of various dates, including Assembly Hall of 1935; 9 bays, brick with 9 tall arched metal windows on the south side. Lower part of central window is now a door. 2 storeys, upper storey set back with metal windows with stone dressings. Narrow band of decorative brickwork pillars at the top of the first storey. Single storey workshops to the south. Small modern theatre building.

Interior

The interior of the original school buildings was inspected and there are some delightful original decorative features. The main entrance leads to an octagonal hallway with mosaic effect floor and a circular motif in the centre. Each corner has an engaged square column, timber panelled below and plaster above, holding one end of the brick arches with keystones above each opening. Original timber doors. Main entrance doors have stained glass

Cambridge City Council 40 upper sections with art nouveau flower motif, as does the stained glass semi- circle above the main door. Rear stairs (part of the 1903 building) have banisters with elaborate painted metal rails in art nouveau style. First floor library (with mezzanine later inserted) has elaborate exposed timber framed roof. First floor landing; original doors, painted and panelled, with elaborate painted flat hoods. Walls have painted tongue and groove panelling to the lower half and bare brick upper half.

History

Hills Road Sixth Form College was built in 1903 as the Cambridge and County School for Boys (it became the Cambridge and County High School for Boys in 1923). It had opened in 1900 in Regent Street to provide for the increasing need for a modern education and was described as a `Secondary School for boys preparing for farming, market gardening, building, surveying and business life generally’. It moved to purpose built buildings on Hills Road in 1903, where a contemporary photograph shows it with few buildings around, sited on playing fields, now largely built over. The original building consisted of bays 1 – 3 and 7 – 9 of today’s main building overlooking Hills Road, which were joined by a recessed section, now only visible from the back. The upper floor of this was originally the Assembly Hall, but became the library when the new Assembly Hall was built in 1935. Along with the original building, a house was built for the Caretaker. Although it was pointed out at the opening ceremony that the authorities `had spent as little as possible in ornamentation and decoration’, there are some excellent contemporary features, such as the octagonal entrance hall, the art nouveau stained glass and banister rails, the library ceiling and the use of bare brick internally. Some of the original rooms leading off the octagonal hallway are intact, including the headmaster’s study, a waiting room and the staff common room. The architects, Macalister & Tench, proposed two different buildings for the governors to choose from and their coloured drawings are on view at the school.

In 1924 the recessed space at the front of the school between the octagonal entrance hall and its corresponding southern section was filled in; the

Cambridge Suburbs and Approaches: Hills Road 41

architect for this work was H.H. Dunn, who also built the northern side of the front courtyard to single storey level in 1928, to provide a larger Masters’ Common Room, and a workshop and changing rooms. H. H. Dunn was the county architect and also built Milton Road Junior School, the Ruskin Building at Anglia Ruskin University, Shire Hall and Sawston Village College. In 1935 this building was given a second storey, and the Assembly Hall on the south side of this court was built, by S E Urwin, who was responsible for part of Long Road Sixth Form College (originally the county girls’ school) and also built himself a house of concrete bricks on Sedley Taylor Road (No. 22). The school has continued to develop in a piecemeal fashion and covers a large area to the west of the original building. In 1946 it became the Cambridgeshire High School for boys, and in 1974 it became Hills Road Sixth Form College. Notable alumni include Syd Barrett and Roger Waters of Pink Floyd.

Cambridge City Council 42 6. Maps

Cambridge Suburbs and Approaches: Hills Road 43

l P

n r u b h c WE t TE E i NHAL C D L R A OAD L P E North Hills Road Character Assessment Map L IL V N Central Conservation Area O Historic Core Appraisal G Fenner's Cricket Club M ILL Central Conse RrOvation Area: AD G Mill Road Appraisal R E S H A M R O A D D A O R

N O S I N D E A T RO D D A L O D IE A SF R N N O E R L O S S IS A L B G A N R A B

T S

L YNDEWO DE ROAD

P A N

T O

N

S

T R

E

E

T

ET H STRE ORWIC N t on em ar Cl ET N STRE BATEMA

S TATION ROAD Central Conservation Area: H IL L New Town & Glisson Road Appraisal S Cambridge R O Railway A D Station

Cambridge University Botanic Garden

D

A

O

R

T

A

T S Coleridge Recreation U R Ground

H IL L ENUE S S AV KLAND R BROO O A D

Brooklands Avenue Conservation Area

Cambridge Leisure Park

CHER Cambridge RY HIN TON R University OAD Press

R

O

C

K

R

O

A

D D

A

O

R

N

O

T

W

E

N E GROV NGTON 1:5,000 HARTI 0 25 50 100 150 200 Metres

Character Area 1 VE O GRO Character Area 2 BLINC Character Area 3 Character Area 4

H I Character Area 5 L L S

R TPO Areas (Boundaries) O Homerton College A E D VENU Buildings which Detract DISH A CAVEN Building Important to the Character Buildings of Local Interest

Proposed Buildings of Local Interest Clare College Sports Ground Listed Buildings

Green Spaces E AVENU B HILLS A

ExistingR Conservation Area

R

O Outside W of Conservation Area

R

O

A

HedgelinDe

Individual TPO's

Other Trees

© Crown copyright and database right 2012. Ordnance Survey Licence number 100019730. B

A

L

D

O

C K GU NH W IL D WAY A E Y d e n South Hills Road Chd ale Crl acter Assessment Map GUNHILD E WAY ENUE S LS AV O HIL L C

D Y

L A I

H W

N N I U

G W

D

O

G

ROAD GLEBE HUL ATT ROAD GODW IN WAY

S T R A N H G I E L W L A S Y

R S O R D O A A D A O D

R

Y W A U R L B F

W S

O T A M N

D OA W OOK R OLBR A H Y

WAY EDITH'S QUEEN

WAY EDITH'S QUEEN LONG D WAY ROAD KINNAIR

A L NETHERHA M LL WAY

O

N

E

R

S D '

A A

O V R E N N

O U

D E N E F H IL L S R Y O A A W D E F E F U I N L E V C A P LE O A T G N BEAUMONT ROA TI D H IG N

H IL LS FI R ELD O WA A Y D

NE LA SS RO D C RE

WO RTS' CA B USEW A AY B R A H AY A N W M SO R IN O OB A R D

A 1 3 0 7

1:5,000

0 25 50 100 150 200 Metres

Character Area 1 Character Area 2 B A Character Area 3 B R A H A Character Area 4 M R O A Character Area 5 D TPO Areas (Boundaries) Buildings which Detract Building Important to the Character Buildings of Local Interest

Proposed Buildings of Local Interest D A O R Listed Buildings 'S M A Green Spaces H N A R Existing Conservation Area G

Outside of Conservation Area

Hedgeline

Individual TPO's

Other Trees

© Crown copyright and database right 2012. Ordnance Survey Licence number 100019730.